Kenya Simbas crowned Elgon Cup champions in Uganda

Kenya Simbas are the 2024 Elgon Cup champions.

Simbas retained the regional gong after seeing off Uganda Cranes 21-5 in an entertaining match played at the rain soaked Kings Park, Bweyogerere in Kampala on Saturday.

The win saw Kenya maintain their dominance over their neighbours whom they defeated 27-25 last week in Nairobi.

Kabras Sugar forward Ephraim Oduor displayed his strength and powerful ball carrying abilities when he bulldozed past two Ugandan defenders to score the opening try for Kenya in the fifth minute.

Timothy Omela of Menengai Oilers easily split the posts to hand Kenya an early 7-0 lead.

Ten minutes later, Simbas powerful ball carrying capabilities was rewarded again when vice-captain Eugene Sifuna again made the Ugandan defence look ordinary when he sprinted past more than four defenders to touch down near the posts for the visitors second try.

Omela added the extras once again to stretch Kenya’s lead to 14-0 and with 20 minutes left on the click to play.

Playing with the forwards rather than the full backs and wingers, Simbas again proved too powerful to contain for Uganda Cranes who were easily bundled away as Kenya camped at the hosts 22m line.

Kenya Under-20 captain Andy Cole Omollo who was promoted to the senior team due to his perfect lineout mastery, defence and ball carrying capabilities repaid the faith bestowed on him when after defending a Ugandan attack, he scored his first senior try.

Simbas had knocked the ball just a few meters away from the Ugandan try box, an offence penalised by a scrum awarded to Uganda.

However, Omollo read the Ugandan scrumhalf whom despite exiting with the ball, he was tackled inside their own try box and thus forcing the player to ground the ball in the in-goal area which resulted in a penalty of a five-meter scrum awarded to Kenya in line with the place where the ball was grounded.

Brian Wahinya who had offloaded both to Oduor and Sifuna for the opening two tries grabbed his third assist of the game when he again found a charging Omollo who went over for a center post try.

Omela maintained his perfect kicking to push the scores to 21-0 heading into the break.

In the final half, coach Jerome Paarwater introduced Fijian-born full back John Kubu in place of Barry Young who was struggling with a knock.

Despite many attempts to replicate their first half performance, Simbas struggled to keep possession as the Ugandans pushed by their fans attacked wave after wave.

The Simbas front row led by Sifuna, Oduor and Wilhite Mususi would however take the hit as they kept the Ugandan attackers away while captain George Nyambua and Omollo made big tackles.

Wingers Griffin Chao, Alfred Orege kept the Ugandan full backs at bay, watching closely and closing the gaps while Omela and Kubu kept the kicking game to gain territory at it best.

Uganda’s persistence was however repaid with the final kick of the play when they scored an unconverted try.